A bite to match the bark

With Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri at the helm of the Indian team, there are no ambiguities with pre-series expectations. They revealed, in as many emphatic words, that they were out to win the Test series in South Africa and in the process shatter any lingering perceptions about Indian's travel travails. On paper, the former of their objectives will go under the 'not met' category. The bit about perceptions, however, were dispelled in spectacular style with a backs-to-the-wall victory at Johannesburg.

If it wasn't already known, the series revealed that India have a sizeable bite to their bark. As Kohli remarked after the Wanderers win, they weren't "rolled over" by South Africa and instead traded blow for blow with their closest challengers. Many of the side's batsmen showed indomitable spirit in responding to Kohli's call to play an extra seamer and bat first on that treacherous surface at the Bull Ring and will wear their bruises from the game as medals with great pride.

What distinguished India from Johannesburg to the version of them that played at Cape Town and Centurion was the way they never showed signs of panic when Dean Elgar and Hashim Amla put on 119 in the fourth-innings chase. They maintained their bowling disciplines to prise out the last nine wickets for 53 runs and complete a famous win. Because the Johannesburg win was so heroic, India's players will sometime, over a dinner conversation, be forced to reflect on moments from the first two Tests that could have been played differently for a series win.

That reminiscing would take them right back to the first hour of the series and to Bhuvneshwar Kumar's triple strike on a spicy Newlands wicket that Faf du Plessis thought would disintegrate later. From 12 for 3, the absence of a second-line of attack allowed AB de Villiers to lead South Africa's recovery with a thrilling counter-attack. Later when Keshav Maharaj made most of a dropped catch from Shikhar Dhawan to score 35, the hosts got to 286 when ideally they ought to have been closed off for a total around 200.

India'll also go back to the second innings in Centurion when Jasprit Bumrah's in-duckers had South Africa to 3 for 2, effectively ahead by 31. Once again de Villiers proved to be their scourge, his 80 taking the total beyond India's reach on a variable bouncing track. The other bad session they played came after Lunch on the fourth day in Centurion, when they couldn't separate du Plessis and Vernon Philander during an attritional session. That contentious spell of play saw India not take the second new ball to keep down the runs while South Africa were content only on taking time away from India in the chase. Kohli's waiting game, not unlike the one MS Dhoni employed in Durban on the last visit, was a segue from his persistent calls to take matters in their own hands.

The issue with Indian teams of yore was that the balance of the side was heavily skewed in favour of batting. The pace department, a considerably weaker suit, never let them take control of Tests consistently. To that regard, this management group deserves praise for flipping the success mantra with a heavy emphasis on a strong core of fast bowling. The 60 wickets earned were thus an ultimate validation for their investment. Bhuvneshwar (10 wicket at 20.30) was devastating with a moving ball while Ishant was relentless. And even if he had only eight wickets to show for his tireless efforts in the second and third Tests, he finished with the best economy for all bowlers - 2.17.

Jasprit Bumrah improved by leaps after an uncertain start in the first hour at Newlands where he bowled white-ball lengths while Mohammed Shami alternated between disinterested and unplayable. Between these four, Kohli had a diverse skill-set pool to choose from for his combination depending on the conditions he expected to encounter. They, along with the unused Umesh Yadav, remain India's biggest hopes of achieving that elusive overseas series win in this cycle.

Unfortunately for India, the batting which had come so good on their last trip here, was a bit of hit and miss against South Africa's consistently incisive four-pronged pace attack. Kohli finished as the series' top-scorer with 286 runs, including a counter-attacking 153 at Centurion and innings of 54 and 41 in Johannesburg, which must rank among his best in the format for his sheer conviction in plonking his front foot to the pitch of the ball even in the knowledge that balls were shooting off a length.

What will bother them more is that there were hardly any other big contributions with the bat in the first two games. Hardik Pandya made 93 in Cape Town but finished with a series tally of 119 - the next highest for India after Kohli. Before a return to his patient ways in the second innings at Johannesburg, Vijay felt compelled to scratch his outside-off-stump itch. For a batsman of Pujara's class, 100 runs from six innings will do nothing to shush the 'home bully' whispers. There were further failures with Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma failing to make the cut.

To add to the surprising batting inconsistency, India allowed Hardik Pandya to be a free spirt in the lower middle-order. While it worked with the bat on one occasion, Pandya resembled a player who could do with some role definition. India have waited a long while for a player of his all-round talents but they cannot blood him into a line-up that is being tasked to achieve feats other Indian teams haven't managed. If Pandya is the indispensable all-rounder then a batsman like Vijay and a bowler like Shami can't afford to have hot and cold moments.

Catching though remains India's biggest worry. They dropped eight straightforward chances in the first two Tests, which culminated in coach R. Sridhar trialling a new member - Pandya - in the slip cordon at the Wanderers with Kohli going to mid-on/mid-off. Mentally or technically, India will need to solve this persistent problem or begin to look elsewhere for solutions.

Ultimately India should believe they've had the right ingredients to end their 25-year-old drought in South Africa. Barring injuries or dramatic loss of form, the core of this team will also travel to England in the summer. If they can get to the touring country early enough for practice games, resist the urge to show daredevilry in every selection call and not put every player under one intent umbrella, they should find their elusive away series win soon enough.